Federal Fusion Bullets

[Slamfire]

I purchased 1000 150 grain Federal Fusion bullets in 308, all pulled. I previously shot around 200 130 grain Federal Fusion bullets (pulled) in two 270 Winchesters and they shot well. I can say the 277 Federal Fusion bullets would hold the ten ring out to 300 yards, but I have no idea how these bullets perform on game.

So, what is the experience of those who have used Federal Fusion bullets on game? Did they perform well, as expected.....?

I doubt I would shoot anything larger than deer, but you never know.

 

[Captcurt]

I have only shot them in a 243 but they work on Ozark whitetails very well. I wouldn't be afraid to shoot them in my 300 WSM.

 

[CarJunkieLS1]

Federal Fusions have an excellent reputation on game. They are a bonded bullet that won't "come apart" they expand reliably and penetrate deep. Use them with confidence.

 

[SoonerMedic]

What do you mean by pulled??

 

[horsemen61]

Sooner Medic someone took the time to actually “Pull the bullet out of the case for whatever reason” So you can reload that bullet in your own case it used to be done with surplus Ammo a lot like the 147 grain fmj .308 cal

 

[JimKirk]

My Grandson just killed a nice big old doe with a 100 grain Federal Fusion in a .243 Win .... His first deer!

Sometimes you can find these "pulled" bullets from bullet dealers like RMR bullets ... They may come from a batch of factory ammo that did not meet the Standards they have set. Could have been bad powder/wrong powder ... Bad primers ... Bad brass ... or whatever reason that the ammo company chose not to sell as retail ... There are companies that break down this ammo into the various components ... Which are then sold off .... to companies like RMR ...

 

[Slamfire]

What do you mean by pulled??

American Reloading said these were pulled Federal Fusion bullets. The representative I talked to claimed the company had an $80,000 (or $800,000?) machine that pulled bullets without leaving a mark. Since I don't have the bullet pulling machine I cannot be more specific about the process. I have not seen a scratch mark on either the pulled 130 Federal Fusion I purchased, or these 150 Federal Fusion.

https://americanreloading.com/en/30-caliber-308/2021-308-150gr-soft-point-250ct.html

 

[Glockula]

I have killed a doe at 150 yards and a 6 point at 6 yards with the fusion 165s in my 300wsm. Their performance has been on par with the Nosler partitions I hand load and a much tougher bullet than Hornady interbonds.

 

[<*(((><]

@Slamfire I was interested by your post in buying some of those pulldowns from American Reloading. I went to the link you provided and the picture they show, shows the cannelure in different positions on the bullet, as the picture off their website I pulled and posted below. Do the bullets you bought from them have different cannelure positions like shown in the picture? Maybe that's why they were pulled and are being sold as seconds?

 

[Slamfire]

Do the bullets you bought from them have different cannelure positions like shown in the picture? Maybe that's why they were pulled and are being sold as seconds?

I have not examined cannelure position with my bullets. No idea why there is a difference. I was informed over the phone that these were Federal Fusion. I have not sectioned a bullet to determine its construction. The price was good for a 30 caliber hunting bullet, so even if they turn out to be Rem Core Lokts, I am happy with the price. I seldom crimp a centerfire rifle bullet, only for elephant guns and lever actions. Crimp position won't make any difference in seating depth. I have no idea why they are seconds, but Federal is not prevented legally from putting a groove in their bullets, if they so want. It is their end product and they are entitled to alter it as they wish.

 

[EIB0879]

Used Fusion bullets in .243, .270, and 30-06 on deer and they worked very well.

 

[Mike472]

I have experiance poor performance on game with fussion bullets. Hardly any expansion. No blood trail small exit wound.



This was my personal experiance. Ymmv



Will not use them on game anymore.

 

[Slamfire]

I sectioned one bullet, the jacket is clearly thicker where the cannulure is located.



That is a feature of the Remington Core Lokt.



The cannulure is located at a different height for some of the bullets, maybe this ammunition was pulled from several different 308 cartridges where the OAL was different. Bullet weight was the same.

 

[GooseGestapo]

Actually it's the cannelure depressed into the plated metal jacket.
The jacket on the Fusion is electro deposition plated. Easy to control thickness, (sloution concentration, current, time), but essentially impossible to taper like the swaging, extrusion method of forming of jacket like Corlokt or Hornady Interloks.
Factor in the depth of cannelure, and metal thickness is the same. But, I've seen the cannelure retard further expansion and enhance core retention.

Furthermore, only the older designed Corlokts (i.e. The Round nose bullets) are still "true" corlokts.
I've got a 200gr Rem .358" Corlokt I recovered from a ~180lb whitetail buck I shot in '04. Expanded bullet weighs 187gr and looks like the ad's.
An excellent "old school" bullet design.

 

[Moparnut]

I have not examined cannelure position with my bullets. No idea why there is a difference. I was informed over the phone that these were Federal Fusion. I have not sectioned a bullet to determine its construction. The price was good for a 30 caliber hunting bullet, so even if they turn out to be Rem Core Lokts, I am happy with the price. I seldom crimp a centerfire rifle bullet, only for elephant guns and lever actions. Crimp position won't make any difference in seating depth. I have no idea why they are seconds, but Federal is not prevented legally from putting a groove in their bullets, if they so want. It is their end product and they are entitled to alter it as they wish.

Could be they were grooved with the tip down and have tip variations ( some have less lead, some have more coming from the tip). If grooved from the heel the machinery or equipment may have loose causing variations. Core lokts from Remington are not bonded.

Fusion bullets have always been pretty good when it comes to accuracy, in my rifles. As far as expansion, I have not actually shot an animal with them.

 

[Laphroaig]

The jacket on the Fusion is electro deposition plated. Easy to control thickness, (sloution concentration, current, time), but essentially impossible to taper like the swaging, extrusion method of forming of jacket like Corlokt or Hornady Interloks.

That's what I've always thought and read too. But the thickness of the jacket looks different around the tip. How'd they do that?

 

[GooseGestapo]

Smearing of alloy jacket/lead during sectioning cut. Also, the bullet starts out as a cylindrical slug and nose shape is swaged into shape, and meplat formed by shearing tip.

Just like the GoldDot is a "punched" and swaged tip. Not unlike rolling and folding a shotgun shell crimp.
Advantage is that it's a true bonded design. Copper is moleculary bonded to lead core. Note a small amount of folding over of copper near meplat.
Because the jacket is exceptionally uniform, and bullet is sized to final diameter, the bullets are very uniform. Hence, accurate.

Expansion characteristics are from lead and copper alloy, thickness of plated jacket and weight of bullet being matched.
However, credit Speer/Federal for doing the R/D to determine the necessary parameters.

 

[CarJunkieLS1]

Federal Fusion bullets are impressive for sure. I've shot them in a few different rifles and they've been MOA or better for accuracy. A few months ago I tested a 123 Fusion factory load for my 7.62x39 AR. I shot at 100 yards into gallon jugs full of water. It completely destroyed 3 jugs and left a nice exit in the 4th and stopped inside the 5th. The recovered bullet was a mirror image of what you see in ads and had 100% weight retention. That just doesn't get better than that.

 

[wombat13]

I killed two deer several years ago with 180 gr. Fusions in my .300WM. They seemed to do a good job, but small sample size, and any .30 cal bullet in the vitals of a whitetail will kill it.